I have a few
questions and I would be obliged if you would be kind enough to answer them
for me. First, please tell me the difference between Sharī‘ah and Tarīqah.

Answer:

As you know, the
Sharī‘ah is the Law that Allah has promulgated for the Islamic Ummah. This
law was also given to the followers of all the previous Prophets (sws) with
a little change that their respective scenarios demanded be incorporated.

On the other hand, Tarīqah
is the corpus of systematic exercises devised by the Sufis to obviate the
obstacles that one person feels while acting upon the Sharī‘ah. These
exercises are supposed to help the subjects come closer to God and feel
contented and elated while carrying out the commandments of Allah. It is
noteworthy to mention that Tarīqah has no basis whatsoever in the
fundamental sources of Islam, namely the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. It is a
human endeavor of its own nature: Sufis being the innovators and pioneers of
it. And it sometimes involves such exercises, which run quite averse to the
spirit of Islamic teachings.